The Plymouth and South West tourism sector is expecting to bounce back strongly once it can unlock but still faces major challenges if social distancing continues, says a leading industry voice.
Amanda Lumley, executive director of Destination Plymouth and co-chair of the Great South West Tourism Partnership, said there is pent-up demand for holidays and the possibility that foreign breaks will be off-limits could bring a bonanza for the West Country tourism industry once it starts to operate again from April 12.
But she said businesses are still likely to face major hurdles, particularly if social distancing continues and therefore reduces capacity, and with the need to balance encouraging visitors with keeping the populace safe.
Mrs Lumley, also director and president of the national Tourism Management Institute, said many businesses have lost as much a 65% of their income during Covid’s first year and are also now saddled with debt, so could be facing further reduced income.
And there will also be headaches for businesses, organisations and the public sector, as they balance holidaying hordes with protecting public health, urging vacationers to book ahead, right down to individual meals.
But she is confident the industry, vital to the South West, will recover eventually and said plans are being made to stretch out the season this year to avoid bottlenecks during peak times.
“It will be a challenging year,” she said. “People still don’t know what social distancing there will be. There are strong forward bookings but if businesses can only open with 60% capacity because of social distancing it will be challenging.
“The coach group market is slowly returning, for example, but with social distancing, instead of having 50 people on a coach it is down to 25 or 30 people.”
She said how long social distancing carries on will depend on the medical experts, and “what the numbers look like”. “The numbers have plateaued a bit at the moment,” she said. “But the Government will be nervous it could peak again so we will have to tread gently.”
She said a move away from the tier system employed in late 2020 will help, preventing travel restrictions between areas of the country.
But that throws up issues too and Mrs Lumley said: “The challenge is going to be that some people will be worried about others coming here and bringing the virus. There was no evidence of that happening last summer, but it is still a worry.
“So we are working with Plymouth City Council’s public health team so licensed premises are safe to open and have Covid accreditation saying they can operate safely.
“We are trying to encourage people to book ahead, even booking restaurants in advance, so that they are not wandering around looking for somewhere that is open,” she said. “So plan before you go and book in advance as much as you can.”
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Nevertheless, she said that it is hoped Plymouth, for example, can avoid a repeat of the scenes witnesses at the Barbican in summer 2020, when revellers gathered in huge numbers. But she said that even with the best planning there will be some visitors who will “do their own thing”.
That is why Plymouth will be deploying additional Covid marshals “to guide people” she said, adding: “And the police will be helping to support that.”
“And all the public toilets will be open for as long as possible, and if we need more we will be bringing in more. So we are putting things in place to make sure people are safe and have a great experience.”
She said the industry is also working to prevent a “pinch point” by encouraging bookings in the late summer and early autumn and even pre-Christmas.
But she added that economic recovery may have to wait and said: “Some businesses have lost 65% of their income in the past six months and won’t catch that up overnight. And a lot of businesses have taken out bank loans and will have to pay them back.”
